The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission (SWMPC) is the designated metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the Twin Cities Area Transportation Study (TwinCATS) and the Niles-Buchanan-Cass Area Transportation Study (NATS). The SWMPC acts as a liaison between citizens, local government officials, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
An MPO is responsible for transportation planning and decision-making that is cooperative, comprehensive, and continuing that encompasses all modes of transportation (i.e. car, bike, foot, boat, air, rail). As an MPO, the SWMPC is also responsible for distributing state and federal money for transportation projects within TwinCATS and NATS boundaries. Three tools the SWMPC uses to decide where money gets dispersed are the:
Unified Work Program (UWP), which states what the MPO staff will work on for the fiscal year
Long Range Transportation Plan (LRP), which is a long-term document that lays out the goals of the region and how the MPO plans to meet those goals
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which states what projects have been selected and when they will begin. Projects in the TIP must be identified in the LRP as meeting the goals of the region.
MPOs operate under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act - A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), signed into law August 10, 2005 by President George W. Bush.
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